What Keeps Us Close
by AshleysTheName
Summary: Despite their differences, trouble-maker Gideon Prewett and goody-two-shoes Head Girl Marlene McKinnon quickly become close. Will Head Boy Fabian Prewett be okay with that? Will their differences tear Marlene and Gideon apart? And could they possibly start feeling something more?
1. Chapter 1

_**Made for ash-luvgirl02's 1 Character, 1 Prompt Challenge! Enjoy!**_

..

Molly always said I was stubborn and hard headed. I preferred to call it _persistence. _I never gave up. Ever. So when a new challenge came my way, I gladly accepted it. This time was no exception.

It was the summer between my sixth and seventh year at Hogwarts and I had absolutely nothing to do. I was bored out of my mind. Fabian was off with some girl (summer romance, yuck) and Molly was always out in the yard, tending to her stupid chickens and what not. She didn't even want to play Quidditch anymore.

So I spent most of my days just sitting in the living room, pondering life and eating chocolate frogs, wishing stupid Fabian would not have a girlfriend.

Dad noticed what a sorry sight I was and presented me a challenge. He had always been fascinated with muggles and muggle studies. He had suggested I tried to build something muggle, without magic. I didn't know if I could succeed. I always got poor grades in muggle studies.

After a while, I figured I had nothing to lose. The next day, Dad came by after work with long pieces of wood, screw drivers, screws, and book entitled 'how to build a shed'.

My brow furrowed as I read the book. The cover was of a big and beautiful shed surrounded by green fields and pretty gardens.

"Figured you could build it for Molly," my dad said, "She sure loves her garden and those chickens."

I got to work right away. At first I had to build this foundation. That took me forever to do. First I had to dig four perfect squares and pour rocks into them, next I had to haul four huge cement blocks from the house all the way the backyard and put them in the holes. I hadn't even started building and I was already exhausted.

I headed back into the house to grab some water when I noticed my brother was there, with Marlene McKinnon.

"Fancy seeing you here," I said to my brother, "Come here often?"

He just rolled his eyes, "Shut up, Gideon." He then turned to Marlene, "Marlene, this is my twin brother, Gideon. Gideon, this is Marlene."

I nodded, "We've met."

"We had Herbology together," she said.

I downed the glass of water in two gulps and got myself another one.

"What are you doing out there?" he asked, noticing my sweat drenched shirt and my thirstiness.

"Building a shed."

"Building a shed?" he asked, eyebrows raised. He knew how bad I was with all things muggle.

"Building a shed." I left it at that.

I went back out. I couldn't fathom how Molly could stay out there all day in the heat. I was sweating like a pig and she was just slightly humming, tending to her garden. On top of that, she was fourteen-year-old girl; I was a sixteen-year-old boy. I didn't show how weak I was in front of her. As if she paid attention anyways.

As it grew to nightfall I realized I loved working in the night, it was much cooler. I brought out a lamp so that I could see. It was really nice and much more bearable. I was building the support system when Marlene walked out. I hadn't realized she was still here.

"What are you building a shed for?" she asked.

"No reason. Boredom," I said, shrugging.

I sawed the wood into long planks while she just watched.

"You're setting up the support systems wrong," she said after some time, "The distances between the blocks needs to be less. It'll collapse if you do it that far apart." She said.

I raised my eyebrows. "How would you know that?"

"I've built a shed before," she said, crossing her arms.

"Why did you build a shed?"

"I'm muggle-born." She said, "My dad and I have built sheds before."

I double checked the book. Huh, looks like I was setting it up wrong.

"Wow, you're right. Thanks," I said and returned to the shed.

We were out there for about an hour more. We didn't really talk much. It was nice to have company, though.

She was there the next day, too. She was playing with one of Molly's chickens in the backyard and I was in the kitchen with Fabian, looking out into the garden.

"So why have you suddenly decided to start brining your girlfriend over here?" I asked.

He snorted, "Girlfriend? Please, don't be ridiculous."

"Wait, she's not your girlfriend? Then why have you been seeing her so much?" I glanced out the window again; she was feeding the chickens with Molly. Molly had grown very fond of Marlene already.

"Well if you'd listen at all, you'd know that next year-"

"-You're going to be head boy!" I groaned, "You haven't shut up about since the moment you got that letter."

He sighed, "Well she's going to be head girl. So we've been meeting to discuss the next year and such. And we decided to start coming here because her parents are going on a month long vacation. Mum, being Mum of course, offered for her to stay here." He then started with the best impression of Mum I've ever heard, "Oh, going to her aunt's? Nonsense! Fabian is over every day anyways, she could just stay with us! My dear daughter, Molly has a bunk bed in her room, we'd be delighted to have her!"

I laughed. He's not generally a funny guy, but he's great with impressions. "So she's staying here for a whole month?" I asked.

He sighed and knocked my head, "You don't have a lot going on up there now, do you?"

..

"Head girl, eh?" I asked, screwing in a plank on my shed, peering over at Marlene who was barely visible in the night.

She nodded, "Yep."

"It's a lot of responsibility to take on," I said.

"I know," she said simply.

"_I, _for one, could not take it. I prefer not having responsibility. Makes life much simpler. I just do my own thing, worry about myself," I said.

She laughed, "Are you sure you're not a Slytherin?"

I rolled my eyes, "I didn't mean it like that. I'd gladly help others, I'm not selfish or anything. I'm just horribly lazy, and wouldn't want to deal with being a prefect or head boy."

She raised her eyebrows, "You're lazy? You've been doing nothing but working on this shed. That isn't laziness."

I shrugged, "Eh, I was just bored. Usually I spend it playing Quidditch with Molly and Fabian, but Molly is too absorbed with her chickens and garden and Fabien with head boy duties. My dad proposed me this challenge, and I took it on."

"Sounds like a plan." She said, biting into her apple she had brought out.

"Where are you parents going?" I asked, trying to strike up conversation. It was nice having someone tot talk to.

"America," she said. "That's where they met. They're going to renew their wedding vows."

"And they just left you?" I asked, staring in disbelief.

"Yea, I guess so. I was supposed to go with my aunt in Germany. Thankfully that didn't happen."

"You don't like your aunt?"

She laughed, "She's absolutely crazy. She was entirely convinced that I was her dead kneazle the last time I visited her! She refused to refer to me as anything but 'fluffy'"

I laughed, "That's pretty bad."

This became a nightly routine for us. I decided that it would best to work on the shed when the sun went down, as it was cooler. Plus, I was one that could sleep in until noon and her and Fabian needed to work on head boy and girl stuff during the day. Anyways, every night she came out with me. We would work and talk. Actually, let me correct that. _ I _worked whilst _she _talked. I didn't mind it, though. It was nice having some company.

Fabian did not seem delighted.

"What are you doing spending so much time together?" he asked me one day in the kitchen. This became our regular meeting place.

I shrugged, "She's cool. We like to talk."

I swear, he thought I was going to corrupt her mind or something. Hanging with me wouldn't make her a bad head girl.

He narrowed his eyes "Well I don't want you to get any 'ideas' or anything, alright?"

I stared at him, "Really, Fabian? Really. I don't see the problem with us just hanging out casually."

"Well 'hanging out' might distract her from her head girl duties!"

I groaned, "And she has all day for that! Besides you go to bed at like, 8," I said, and grabbed handful of popcorn.

"Hmph. 8:30 actually. I just don't want you to be a bad influence."

"Whatever. It's summer; I'm bored, she's bored. And in case you didn't know, she's living here for the next month. Might as well have _some _fun. I mean, you haven't even wanted to play Quidditch since you've been around more!" I said.

"Well, those are kid games."

"Since when? We played it just last year, you're one of the greater beaters on the team! You're not telling me that you're quitting, are you?" I asked, now getting off my bed.

I looked at my brother. It was like looking in a mirror.

"I won't have time for that, now."

I scoffed, "Nonsense! The head boy last year, Arnold I think his name was, was seeker for Ravenclaw!"

"Well, I'm afraid I don't have any interest in that anymore." He said, and marched out of the room with his nose held high. Stupid prick. What happened to him?

Sure, we had always been opposites, I was the troublemaker and he was the goody good. But we were the perfect balance! Best of friends! Yin and yang! This dumb 'head boy' thing had gotten to his head.

"Are you and Fabian close?" Marlene asked that night I was working. She rarely asked me questions. There was a slight breeze out and it felt really nice. It was full moon; I didn't even need a lantern.

I sighed and grabbed a wrench, "I thought we were. But being head boy is getting to his head already, and school hasn't even started. I knew this was going to happen."

She was lying down on the grass and gazing at the beauty of the moon. Her blond hair was a mess in the green grass. It looked soft, like a cloud. "I'm sure it'll pass," she said and shrugged.

She grabbed some popcorn from the bowl that was besides her and threw it in the air to catch it in her mouth. We had discovered our mutual obsession for popcorn a few nights okay. Since then we always have of some when we're together.

"You don't know my brother. It can only get worse. He has some kind of obsession over having authority."

"I do too know your brother, he was at my house almost every day for a month! He's just excited. It _will _pass with time."

I laughed, "I've been with him since we were born. Scratch that, since in the _womb_. I've learned a thing or two about Fabian in that time. I swear, he would never let it go when he got beater for the Quidditch team in third year. He literally tormented me! He wouldn't shut up about it until I got Seeker fourth year."

She laughed, "He really did?"

"He really did" I said and smiled, "Do you play Quidditch?" I asked.

"Oh no! Not at all. Brooms hate me." She said.

"Any muggle sports?"

"Well, I used to play basketball when I was younger. But I quit."

I vaguely remembered basketball being mentioned by my day. It was kind of like Quidditch, putting balls through hoops, but obviously they didn't fly. I think there was one buried in the attic somewhere.

"Wh'd you quit?"

"Well, with going to Hogwarts and everything I don't really have the time," she said as she shrugged.

I checked my watch. 10:30. I stopped and lay on the grass besides her, looking up at the sky. That was the nice part about living in the middle of nowhere, the stars were so bright. I grabbed some popcorn.

"These stars are so beautiful," she said.

"I know. When I was younger I used to come out here everyday and watch the sunset, and then watch the stars come out. Molly came out with me sometimes, Fabian just thought it was a waste of time," I said.

"I wish I could see the stars like this where I live. I live in the city; you can hardly see any lights."

"It's so peaceful. It's nice to know that even when everything in your life isn't going exactly the way it was planned, the stars will always be there. They'll be there and shine beautifully every night for you."

..

_**Thanks for reading :3**_


	2. Chapter 2

It's amazing how quickly my summer seemed to pass by after Marlene had shown up. She brought so much excitement! She made building that stupid shed worth it. We would sit out there for hours, talking about nothing and everything, munching on popcorn and looking at the stars. I noticed Fabians disapproving glances through the window. I ignored him.

By the time she was gone I didn't have any motivation to continue building it. I would glance at it out of the window occasionally, a shred of guilt inside of me. I owled Marlene occasionally but that was about the extent of our talking, she was on holiday for the last bit of summer.

I promised Molly that I would finish her shed when we got back for our breaks. She didn't reply and just stomped out of the room. I had no idea why she was so angry; she knows that once I start something, I always finish it.

I couldn't help but feel a little bit sad as we approached platform 9 and ¾. This would be the last time I would pass through these walls and on the way to the school I so much adored. It was the last time I would board the scarlet train.

I craned my neck to see above the heads of excited people, looking for my friends. I spotted a head of blonde hair making her way towards us.

"Gideon!" she shrieked and wrapped her arms around me. I had no idea how she knew it was me and not my brother. I then realized my lack of a 'Head Boy' badge. I smiled and hugged her back, her badge cutting into my shoulder. Fabian looked a little ticked off that she had greeted me first.

"Hello, dear! How was your holiday?" My mom asked, wrapping Marlene in a big hug.

"It was fantastic, thank you." She said, all smiles. She sure was a charmer.

Then it was hello to my father, and then Molly, and finally an annoyed Fabian.

"Hi, Marlene!" He said, exchanging hugs. "We better get going, making sure everyone gets on the train okay," my brother said.

She nodded. Fabian gave one last hug to a teary-eyed mom before leaving.

"My boy is so grown up," she said, dabbing the corner of her eyes with a tissue.

..

The ride to school was…uneventful. I caught up with my best friend, Edgar Jones, who I didn't see at all over summer because he went to live with his mother in Dublin. He basically ignored me the whole time and sat by his new girlfriend, Dorcas. They couldn't keep their hands off of one another. On a happy note, I suppose, Mom had bought me an owl as a gift. I was thinking of what to name it the whole train ride.

As we were getting off, my brother and Marlene stood by the front of the train to make sure everyone got off safely. Fabian was very…official and head-boyish. Marlene was warm and greeted some of the students, even the very timid first-years. She didn't notice me come out with the rush of students.

I was more than thankful that Dorcas was a Hufflepuff. I could sit by my friend without them practically sucking each other every few seconds. They reluctantly parted ways and we sat at the Gryffindor table for the start of the feast and the sorting.

I really didn't listen much to what Dumbledore was saying. It was the same thing ever year, "Welcome to Hogwarts, blah blah, these are our prefects and heads blah blah, make it a great year, blah blah."

I paid attention to the sorting only when I heard a Gryffindor. The outcome for us was really great this year, more than I expected. Gryffindor is usually the smallest house but we did well. I wondered if there were any decent Quidditch players coming in. Our team suffered last year.

I looked at my brother, all high and mighty with his nose held high. He had an air of superiority. I glanced over at the Ravenclaw table, seeing a direct contrast with Marlene. She was sitting naturally: head in her hands, absent-mindedly twirling her blonde hair in her fingers. She looked no different than anyone else; she didn't feel like a superior. She went crazy when someone was sorted in Ravenclaw. Fabian should really take notes.

She met my gaze and smiled.

When the feast was over, I gladly made my way to my room, the prefects leading the way. This was another time I thanked Merlin that the annoying Dorcas wasn't in Gryffindor.

"How was your summer, mate?" I asked Edgar.

He looked at me, rolling his eyes, "Ugh. Torture. I couldn't see any of my friends or anything. And my mom just tortured me the whole time with puzzles and knitting. She wouldn't even let me go out on my broom! Well, then again, she is a muggle…"

I shrugged, "Your mom is nice," I said, remembering I had met her before.

"Yea, nice, but boring," he said.

We entered our room and I plopped onto my bed gratefully. I was so exhausted.

The first thing I thought of before falling asleep was, _this is the last time I will fall asleep at Hogwarts for the first time._

..

"Hey there, head girl," I said, leaning my hand against the wall, Marlene with her back to me.

She gave out a yelp and the book in her hand fell to the ground with a loud bang. She turned to me, a slight smile creeping up on her face, and shoved me.

"You know," I whispered, "In a library, you're supposed to be quiet. Not setting a very good example, are you?"

"You know," she whispered back, "It's very rude to sneak up on someone like that."

I bent down and grabbed her book for her. She smiled and put it back on the shelf.

"What are you doing here, shouldn't you be leading a prefect meeting?" I asked with a smirk.

"Ha, ha." She said without humor. "Actually, I'm just putting books away."

"What for?"

"To help out Madam Pince," she said.

"Is that part of your head girl duties?"

"Nope. I've done it since first year." She said simply. She picked up a large book and struggled to put it on a shelf that she couldn't reach. I pushed her hand to help her and the book easily went up. I was good five inches taller than she. She looked slightly irritated that I could do it so effortlessly. That made me smile.

"Thanks" she said and moved on. "How's the shed coming along?" she asked.

I sighed, "Not very well. I haven't worked on it much after you left."

She frowned, not looking up from the books, "And why was that?"

"Eh, no motivation." I shrugged and leaned against the wall of books. Peering through the cracks, I could see Edgar and Dorcas whispering things into each other's ears and stealing kisses. Gag me. I wasn't one for relationships.

"What are you looking at?" she asked, peering in the same hole in the books I was looking at, she sighed, "Edgar and Dorcas are so cute together, aren't they?" she swooned just like any girl would.

"No. Definitely not cute. He's my bet friend ad he barely even talks to me anymore! He's always off fooling around with her!" I sighed, turning away from looking at them and looking at Marlene.

"Oh, please. It's not _that _big of a deal. Everyone's like this when they first start a relationship. All 'lovey dovey' and can't spend more than a second away from each other. You can't tell me you've never dated someone before."

"Well..." I said, shrugging, rubbing the back of my neck. She looked at me quizzically "I mean, of course I've snogged someone before! But I mean, I've never been into the commitment. Too much drama."

She raised an eyebrow, "There doesn't have to be drama."

"Well, trust me, there always is. Well, tell me about you. Who have you dated?"

She pursed her lips for a minute, "Two people. One in third year and the other from fourth to the end of sixth year."

"Woa! That long? What happened?" I asked.

She shrugged, "He dumped me," she said simply.

"Oh…um. I'm so sorry-"

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm over it. " She said nonchalantly.

I nodded and grabbed a book to put on the shelf.

..

_**Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think in a review :)**_


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